CHF Health Checks

A RANGE OF HEALTH CHECKS FROM COMPANY RISK ASSESSMENT TO DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTS

Health checks, sometimes known as screening, describe a series of tests to help identify potential risks to health which provides a snapshot of measurements at any particular time. Although it may be tempting to add more and more of these tests – and subsequently the cost to administer them, we view health checks as the start of a process and not for the sake of checks alone.

THE BUSINESS BENEFITS

A Health Risk Assessment will help to identify any potential health risks within your workforce, so that you can make informed and educated decisions regarding how and what to offer your employees, so that your business benefits from the results. The resulting report will help to:

1. Formulate your programme

2. Focus your planning on particular issues or identifiable concerns

3. Determine whether the numbers justify offering activities on a group basis, or only to affected individuals.

WHAT IS INVOLVED IN HEALTH CHECKS?

A full Health Risk Assessment comprises of personal information collated from the following:

QUESTIONNAIRE

The questionnaire asks about lifestyle and health-related behaviours; everything from whether you exercise regularly, if you smoke, drinking habits, social preferences and so forth.

BIOMETRIC SCREENING

Biometric screening is a very simple and non-invasive procedure, whereby measurements are taken by simply standing on a set of scales in bare feet.

The data collected comprises of height and weight, BMI, body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, hydration levels, visceral fat readings, and metabolic age. These results provide us with a snapshot of your current physical health – a ‘baseline check’ which is a starting point for later comparison.

A lung capacity test measures how much air you can hold after taking a deep breathe in, and how quickly you can exhale the air (carbon dioxide) from your lungs. Results will vary depending on your age, sex and height – whilst factors such as lower fitness levels and smoking, or conditions such as asthma, can reduce lung capacity.

BLOOD PRESSURE

In measuring your blood pressure, we are measuring the pressure in your arteries carrying the blood from your heart to your brain and to the rest of your body.

Every blood pressure reading consists of two measurements – for example, you might have heard your doctor or nurse saying your blood pressure is “120 over 80”. The first (or top) number is your systolic blood pressure, which is the highest level your blood pressure reaches when your heart contracts and pumps blood through your arteries. The second (or bottom) number is your diastolic blood pressure, which is the lowest level your blood pressure reaches as your heart relaxes between beats.

If your blood pressure is too high you could be at increased risk of a heart attack or stroke. Increasing physical activity, losing weight, eating a healthy balanced diet and reducing your salt and/or alcohol intake, can all help to reduce high blood pressure, however if it is very high, or if these changes don’t reduce it enough, you may require prescribed medication from your doctor to control it.

BLOOD CHEMISTRY TEST

The final part of the health risk assessment involves testing a pin-prick of blood taken from the tip of your finger. This is a painless procedure that screens cholesterol levels, blood glucose levels and lipids. We do have an option of further checks for peace of mind, including looking for markers that could indicate problems for liver, thyroid, gut health and gender specific issues.

THE RESULTS

At the end of the tests, the person that has been screened is given a personal and private report, summarising the findings and making recommendations for improvement which could include a recommendation to seek medical help. Our advice is focused on:

Prevention practices – what to do to prevent, lessen or reverse a particular problem

If you would like to know more about Health Risk Assessments and how it would benefit your employees and subsequently help your business, call 01908 678701 for a chat or book a free consultation at your place of work.